Dive Brief:
- Signaling the closing shipping window, buy online, pick up in store comprised 25% of online orders in the three weeks after Cyber Monday, according to Salesforce’s analysis of data from 1.5 billion consumers.
- Salesforce predicts that BOPIS usage will surge during Christmas Week, which started Monday and ends Dec. 25. One-third of online orders will be for BOPIS during that time, according to the company.
- Consumers could return more than $131 billion worth of merchandise purchased this holiday season sometime next year, Salesforce predicts. The percentage of returns more than doubled in the week following Cyber Week and has remained high, according to the company.
Dive Insight:
Going in to the holiday season, a number of shoppers expected to use buy online, pick up services offered by retailers. An October survey from the ICSC said that 17% of consumers anticipated using BOPIS.
Additionally, a Forrester report released in August forecast that click-and-collect sales, which include buy online, pick up in store and curbside pickup transactions, would surpass $100 billion this year. Forrester also projects that click-and-collect sales will exceed $200 billion by 2028 and comprise 12% of U.S. online retail sales.
“Retailers that are efficiently fulfilling online orders from physical stores, especially during these peak shopping days, can extend their shipping cutoff date and win market share,” Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail and consumer goods at Salesforce, said in a statement.
In an effort to attract last-minute holiday shoppers, some retailers are highlighting their buy online, pick up services. Target, for example, has extended its store hours and promoted its deadlines for same-day deliveries and BOPIS orders.
Salesforce’s report also noted that artificial intelligence tools have influenced 17% of all orders since Nov. 1 and that the technology could drive $194 billion in holiday sales this year. In recent months, major companies, including Mastercard, Walmart, Amazon and Simon, have deployed artificial intelligence technology to assist customers in their online or in-store shopping.
However, amid the growing number of retailers experimenting with these technologies, AI faces more scrutiny from the industry and regulators. The National Retail Federation recently released its principles for using the technology in retail.
